Day 14 - The Voyage Home

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You've really got to admire the Monte Carlo for it's poolside attendant policy. Today was a hot poolside day so Aidan could have fun in the sun, and the pool was open at 9:00am, and some rather athletic ladies dressed in bikinis were wandering back and forth taking drinks and breakfast orders. Once ordered, some slightly less lissome female brought ones vittles, whilst towels were provided by those just a tad chunkier than the lifeguards (a role for both sexes in appears). So sales were high, but the overwhelming happy feeling went downhill after ordering.

So swimming done, lounging done, floating in a tube going around the pools done, smacking a beach ball around in the wave pool done, packing and checking out done, all by midday - the flight was 21:15. So what now?? Sun avoidance was the key as the temperature soared past 100, and we began a game of musical sunloungers in order to bag us some shady ones. Success, but only partly as by 14:30 we had to go through the process again, nature really does find a way to get you doesn't it?

By 16:30 we'd had enough, although Aidan was not in agreement, however he was also not in the majority, so we packed up to get a bite before the taxi ride to the airport, which I of course washed down with a couple of Pyramid Hefeweizen (or german wheat beers to the uneducated). Aidan and Diane decided cupcakes were more their scene.

Final thoughts on the taxi ride were this;


• Vegas - too damn hot to do anything outside, and not very kid friendly. Great for a stag weekend I would imagine, and probably the only way I'd return, unless I got to the final of a World Series of Poker tournament
• San Diego - great place to visit and I suspect, live. Really vibrant and friendly, plus very crazy around Comic Con
• Comic Con - Diane and Aidan are keen to return next year. Me, whilst I enjoyed it, I'm not sure I would go again




A quick movement of clothes and comic con freebies between cases to avoid excess baggage charges and we were through security like ninjas, completely undetected and sat at our gate with a couple of hours to spare. Most people were sat about reading, with just the tannoy announcements breaking the silence. It was one of these said announcements that managed to perk everyone up "Would passenger McDonald, a Mister Ronald Macdonald please contact the left luggage desk in Terminal 3, that's a Mister Ronald McDonald". Despite looking about us with eagle eyes of MI5 we just couldn't spot any mad ginger haired, big booted clown buffoon anywhere - shame.

Boarding was a simple affair for us, but it seems to be wholly difficult task to some of the worlds vast populace. Find your row and seat, chuck your minimal hand baggage up above and sit down, done. Or conversely, wander aimlessly around the cabin (both sides for optimum annoyance), even sit down in the wrong seats for a while to take the load off, then evetually try and stow your hand baggage (both of which are bigger than most peoples checked bags), in the overhead bins making a pigs ear of it all and clubbing the occasional person around the head in the process. Finally swing round to talk to your companion and smack some poor schmuck quietly placed in an aisle seat in the face.

I'd like to thank the large American sat behind me for ensuring I got a sleep preventing back massage by permanently kneeing my seat. Karma got him at UK Border security as he and his loud wife joined our EU queue, only to be summarily dismissed as having no landing card and generally for being American - I kind of hope they are still being detained!

Well that's it dear reader, our thanks for sharing our journey, time to get the body clock back on good old GMT - Stay Upper Classy Great Britain.

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